Subjects Discussed: The relationship between text and image, Moebius strips, clip art, working in digital, color vs. black and white, blogging as help, Warren Ellis, Tom the Dancing Bug, New Yorker cartoons and captions, fonts, the influence of the 1950s, on becoming a political cartoonist, lettering, analog vs. digital, the crazy policies of the New Yorker art department, Teletubbies, what happened with the Mondo Minishow version of This Modern World, static comics vs. Flash, pause panels, getting pulled from U.S. News and World Report, reaching mainstream audiences, on not getting booked on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, preaching to the choir, the origin of Sparky and the Bearded Liberal, and finding humor immediately after the 2004 election.

Subjects Discussed: Why Caprice carried over in all three of Alex’s books, the appeal of cons and self-delusion, how Tricked was planned, on being influenced by and cultural references, John Lennon, why many of Alex’s women characters are taken in by dupes, messy bedrooms, Dorothy Parker, on writing small-talk in comics, the use of text, balloons, Dave Sim, work ethic, comic book influences, ethical subtext, the mystery of the one dark moment concerning Marlise in Box Office Poison revealed, loyalty, lucid crazy people, the Eisner-Pekar questionnaire, on attending comic book conventions, Alex Robinson the critic on Alex Robinson the artist, Planet of the Apes, on computers and printing, and minicomics.

[NOTE: This is the second of a three-part podcast which tackles Alternative Press Expo. Our Young, Roving Correspondent walked the floor and talked with people for the first two parts. The third part will feature the panel interview with Alex Robinson.]

Subjects Discussed: A different version of Oz, on what an executive producer does on a comic, the latest comic adaptation of Gumby, Bob Burden, an “Ally McBeal sense” to Gumby, Robert Downey, Jr., Hard Gay Comics, naming a comic book universe after a creator vs. coming up with a brand new name like Narnia, animals, Homeric epithets, “Fart Party” as a benign concept, an obsession with submarines, faux Esperanto, Action Philosophers, putting out a Xmas book in April, violence via croquet, Nabokov, footnotes in comics, more animals, the Stop Dating philosophy and an ironic revelation from the guy who came up with it, the scandalous world of catering, mad scientists, robot zombies, squids, bartending guides, purple fingernails, a fascinating gentleman who is organizing the world’s most exteme convention (including nonstop entertainment and dancing!), Art School Confidential, and screenplays vs. comics.

[NOTE: This is the first of a three-part podcast which tackles Alternative Press Expo. Our Young, Roving Correspondent walked the floor and talked with people for the first two parts. The third part will feature the panel interview with Alex Robinson.]

Subjects Discussed: Politically incorrect comics, monster haikus, hermits in Phoenix, comics set in rural environments, using color to draw readers into unexamined life issues, joining the Israeli Army, the politics of comics, community-based art, The K Chronicles as daily strip, the rage and unexpected controversy of flowers, machismo, the five blade razor, the dangers of being bald in East L.A., losing one’s marbles in a literal manner, Corporate Ninja, elongated curves, confusion over a theme/sales gimmick “Money Equals Love,” flyers as a recurrent comic, the DC Comics Collective, Lackluster World, Hot Mexican Love, habanero peppers, using a comic as a taco shell, zombies, and the scoop on Alan Moore’s Lost Girls.

Subjects Discussed: Maintaining a conversational and confessional tone, finding a voice, being known for Isadora Wing vs. poetry, Pablo Neruda, the current status of poetry, on sleeping with Martha Stewart’s husband, personal mistakes, why Jong wrote about Andy Stewart, sexism in the publishing industry, Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei, reader misconceptions of Fear of Flying, the chick lit ghetto, Jennifer Weiner, Molly Jong-Fast, on the lack of serious reviews of women’s fiction, the 1970s publishing environment vs. the 2000s publishing environment, the gender gap in literary fiction and the Canadian loophole, Mary Gaitskill, Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proulx, Kelly Link, American vs. international reputation, literary trends over the years, writing Toni Morrison her first fan letter, and Erica Jong the closet linguist.

We’ve fixed the feed problems that many of you pointed out. And we’ve also added some navigational clarity (and some minor bells and whistles) for those who were perplexed by the bat images. Much appreciation to the PodPress plug-in, which helped us to streamline the RSS feeds.

Condition of Mr. Segundo: Furious and defensive, defending himself against the acrimonious charges from Miss Snark

Subjects Discussed: The Bretster and the Jayster, Lunar Park, McInerney’s notion of “the upper class,” the culterati, on writing about 9/11 in less than ten years, the three-act structure, genteel prose, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John P. Marquand, James Gould Cozzens, bestsellers, the publishing industry, public life vs. literary respectability, credibility in light of the Warren St. John article, responding to Blake Bailey’s review, satire vs. love story, investment bankers as human beings, the lack of thematic elements in The Good Life, the burden of plot, bodies washing bodies.